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{Take Action}VOTE NO on SB 362

Published: March 22, 2012

In honor of World Water Day, we need you to call your state representative ASAP today and ask him or her to VOTE NO on SB 362, ‘the log mining bill.’

SB 362 will allow a small group of private businesses to profit from dredging 200-year old logs that are submerged in the bottom of South Georgia rivers. These logs serve several important ecological functions. First, the logs trap sediment that contain metals and toxins that have accumulated from decades of upstream industrial discharges. Dredging these logs will release these pollutants back into the water. Second, the logs are habitat for the smallest species in the aquatic food chain. Removing these logs will cause harm to habitat and food sources in the rivers. The Georgia Water Coalition is opposed to this practice as few people stand to personally profit while water quality for all will suffer.

Please call your state representative ASAP today and ask him or her to VOTE NO on SB 362, this bill will be heard on the House Floor today.

Background on SB 362: In the 1800s, hundreds of logs were floated on Georgia rivers to sawmills on the Georgia coast. During their journey many of these logs sunk to the river bottom, and now the wood from this virgin timber is highly sought after for woodworking and specialty construction projects. This bill was introduced last year and defeated. It has resurfaced this year in the exact same form.

What this Bill Does: This is a special interest bill that will benefit a handful of people who want to mine submerged logs from our river beds. The bill will allow these special interests to set their own price for this valuable lumber rather than pay a fair price to Georgia’s taxpayers who own these logs.